Mrs McKenzie embraces a supporter. Earlier, she'd wept as the verdicts were read out in court

The troubled and suicidal special needs pupil invented the stories to 'big himself up'.

Yesterday questions were raised as to why the case, which is likely to have cost the taxpayer £50,000, was ever brought.

'I was dealing with a deeply disturbed and suicidal teenager who demanded exceptional care and support... I knew that I was exposing myself to risk of false accusation. I persevered because I was able to distract him from taking his own life'

Mrs McKenzie hugged and kissed members of the jury after they
unanimously found her not guilty of seven counts of sexual activity
with a child while in a position of trust.

Wiping away tears, the married mother of two, described as an
'amazing teacher' by colleagues, said the past two years had been a
'very traumatic time'.

She said: 'This case demonstrates the risk that dedicated and
committed teachers are prepared to take every day. I was dealing with a
deeply disturbed and suicidal teenager who demanded exceptional care
and support.

'I gave him the attention he deserved in his desperate predicament.

'I know that I was exposing myself to the risk of false
accusation. I persevered because I was able to distract him from taking
his own life.'

Her brother, Russell Jones, added: 'Our family have been
through hell. Teresa lost everything, her livelihood, her dignity and
her children were put under the watchful eye of social services.

'It took the jury 50 minutes to exonerate her. She has been utterly vindicated.'

Mrs McKenzie's ordeal began in September 2008 when the boy, who
suffered from a series of personality disorders, told his mother he had
had a ten-month affair with his teacher.

Police were called in and Mrs McKenzie, of Meifod, Powys,
South Wales, was accused of having sex with the boy, now 18, at least
ten times, including in the disabled toilets of the British Library and
at the four star Cumberland Hotel, Park Lane, London.

Colleagues also found love notes and gifts Mrs McKenzie
supposedly sent to the boy, which described his 'strong shoulders,
delicious lips and strawberries and cream hair'.

Another said: 'To my gorgeous pirate. Dreaming of hiring a
pirate ship and sailing across the seven seas. Yo ho, ho my seafaring
sweetie. I will love you forever and ever and ever.'

Mrs McKenzie admitted sending the letters but told the court
she had written them to help the teenager understand the Shakespearean
text, Romeo and Juliet, which they had been studying, and also to help
boost his self-esteem.

During the 11-day trial, Chester Crown Court heard the boy was
the second youngest of six siblings, born into a dysfunctional family
in Hackney, East London.

Diagnosed with a series of personality disorders, he started
taking medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at the
age of ten.

Teachers in mainstream schools were unable to cope with him and he
was found a boarding place at Mrs McKenzie's school in Cheshire.

Without his parents to keep an eye on him the teenager went off the rails even further.

Living alone in rented accommodation, he found he was free to
smoke skunk cannabis and drink alcohol, sometimes downing up to 25
pints of cider a week.

The powerfully-built youngster also tried heroin, ran up a
£200 telephone-bill on sex chat lines and had an 'addiction' to
internet pornography.

Outside court Mrs McKenzie thanks the jury for 'seeing the truth of the situation I was in'

He was regularly seen by psychiatrists and in July 2008 was
hospitalised after an apparent suicide attempt when he overdosed on his
medication during the summer holidays.

But it was the boy's fantasies about women which were to have
damaging implications for Mrs McKenzie, who became his 'key worker' in
November 2007.

In court, the boy agreed that he dreamed of having a
relationship with Mrs McKenzie, who had joined the school in February
2006.

He also admitted he lied about having sex with a teacher at
another school and a social worker. The court heard that another
teacher, Joy Reckless, who was assigned to the boy before Mrs McKenzie,
warned her of his behaviour.

Mrs McKenzie's husband, Hastings, a lecturer has stood by her
throughout her ordeal, but her mother said the case had 'destroyed the
career of a brilliant teacher'.

Patricia Jones added: 'Teresa is a wonderful thoughtful person who has a real moral sense.'

Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of
Headteachers, said: 'It is likely that this teacher's career will be
destroyed, even though she has been exonerated, because it is likely to
come up on her record every time she applies for a job.'

A CPS spokesman said: 'We clearly thought there was a case to answer.'

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Deputy head teacher cleared of having 14-month affair with special needs pupil